Lutong Bahay: Easy Cheesy Tuna Pesto Pasta with Clara Olé

Lutong Bahay is a short tag on the title which I use to feature home-cooked food, either in our own home or at a friend's house, either my own cooking or not.

I've always loved cooking pasta dishes, whether it's tomato-based, cream-based, or oil-based. And speaking of oil-based, I've always been hooked on pesto, but found it tedious to make from scratch. I would probably make my own pesto sauce if it's for a really special occasion. But for sudden cravings from either me or my little sis, I've always been thankful there's the just-heat Cheesy Pesto pasta sauce from Clara Olé.

And nope, Clara Olé's Cheesy Pesto pasta sauce isn't the fake-tasting type. It was really made from basil, garlic, nuts, cheese and olive oil. I was once tempted to make a pesto pasta dish and claim I made the pesto sauce from scratch. But of course, I can't handle lying like that and I wanted to give credit to where credit is due. Yup, to Clara Olé!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. pasta of your choice
• 1 head of garlic (minced)
• 1 can of tuna flakes in oil
• 1 pack of Clara Olé Cheesy Pesto
• olive oil or extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper
• Parmesan cheese and basil (optional)
• chilies or red pepper flakes (optional)

Procedure:

1. Cook your pasta according to package and set aside. Don't wash it off on running water, by the way. Just let it sit in the cooking pot until sauce is ready.
2. Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté the garlic until slightly golden (Not brown!), then add the tuna and cook for about a minute or two.
3. Add the Clara Olé Cheesy Pesto and heat for a few minutes.
4. Season your pesto sauce (to your preference) with salt and pepper. Add chili flakes if you'd like some heat.
5. Put pasta (straight from the cooking pot) to your pesto sauce and mix well.
6. You can add in some grated Parmesan cheese and some basil leaves. As for me, I prefer to garnish my pasta with some parsley since it was all I could find.

This pesto pasta dish is very easy to make thanks to Clara Olé's ready-to-use, just-heat-up Cheesy Pesto pasta sauce. This recipe is very customizable too! If you don't like tuna flakes, feel free to use anchovies, shrimp, chicken, or even bacon! You can also go vegetarian and just add tomatoes. Or, go plain and serve the sauce as is.

I once used a can of San Marino Chili Corned Tuna since it was all I could find in our cupboard. The pesto sauce turned orange-brownish though (look at that 2nd photo), but it tasted really good, and with a spicy kick. Even my little sister loved it!

Next time, I'll try doing a creamy pesto pasta dish by adding cream. What say you?